R.I.P. Scout26
Pictured: The battered and bruised face of a burglar who got on the wrong side of a 72-year-old former boxerBy Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 3:40 PM on 30th June 2009A knife-wielding burglar got a shock when he attacked a pensioner in his home - a couple of right hooks to the face.Gregory McCalium had not realised that 72-year-old victim Frank Corti was a retired boxer.This police mugshot of 23-year-old McCalium, taken soon after he was arrested at Mr Corti's home, shows the facial injuries the OAP inflicted as he made a citizen's arrest.Today, McCalium is beginning a four-and-a-half year prison sentence after a judge told him he 'got what he deserved.'Battered and caught out: Gregory McCalium before his encounter with Frank Corti and after, looking ever-so-slightly the worse-for-wearReluctant hero: Frank Corti is pleased with the sentence and has insisted that 'most people would have acted the same way'A court heard how Mr Corti - who served with the Royal Engineers in North Africa from 1956-58 - was at home with his wife Margaret at the time of the incident.McCalium, a neighbour, smashed his way into the couple's home and lunged at Mr Corti with a blade.The pensioner dodged the knife and punched the intruder twice in the face, leaving him with a black eye and swollen lip.He then restrained McCalium until police arrived.After the sentencing, Mr Corti said: 'We are very pleased (with the sentence) because our life was severely disrupted by the incident and we are pleased he won't be troubling us for a few years.'I had to restrain him before he could go and get the knife.'I was scared when he first threw the knife,'If you can't defend what's yours, where are we at?'During sentencing at Oxford Crown Court, Brian Payne, prosecuting, said: 'There was a struggle and it was clear Mr McCalium was intoxicated because his reactions were slow.'It seems Mr McCalium ended up with far more serious injuries.'The break-in was the culmination of a dispute between the neighbours, Mr Payne added.The court heard that cocktail barman McCalium was drunk after partying all night when he forced his way into his neighbour's house in Botley, Oxford, at 8am on August 19.Police had turned up earlier in the morning after complaints of noise and McCalium was seen brandishing a wooden sword.The barman denied aggravated burglary and told a trial in March that he could not remember the incident.John Simmons, defending, said: 'Whatever happened that night was a coming together of a situation that had been brewing for some time and in the run-up neither of them covered themselves in glory.'It was like a pressure cooker that finally blew.'Mr Corti received only minor injuries, Mr Simmons told the court.He added: 'Photographs of the defendant showed what looked like a car accident and photos of the scene looked more like a murder scene.'Recorder Angela Morris said because of McCalium's age and lack of serious previous convictions she would pass the shortest sentence available.'Luckily, Mr Corti was an able-bodied 72-year-old who was able to defend himself.'The jury might well have concluded you got what you deserved when you entered that property and took a swipe at him with that weapon.'The elderly and vulnerable people are entitled to demand the protection of courts from people like you who decide to take matters into your own hands and enter a property with a weapon.'McCalium, who has been in custody since the attack, will serve half the sentence before he is eligible for release on licence.After the sentencing, Detective Constable Jon Shaw said: 'A dispute happened between residents over excessive noise levels in the road.'This led to McCalium, confronting one of his neighbours, armed with a knife.'The elderly man, who at the time was at home with his wife, was able to subdue the man until the police arrived.'Fortunately no-one was more injured in this incident but this was still a terrifying situation and McCalium must now pay for his actions.Glory days: Mr Corti pictured outside the Baliol Boys Club at the age of 16Jailed: McCalium pictured partying on his Facebook pageGregory McCalium had become involved in a long-running dispute with Mr Corti about noisePictured: The battered and bruised face of a burglar who got on the wrong side of a 72-year-old former boxer | Mail Online
...a judge told him he 'got what he deserved.'
'If you can't defend what's yours, where are we at?'
"The chances of finding out what's really going on are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. I'd far rather be happy than right any day.""And are you?""No, that's where it all falls apart I'm afraid. Pity, it sounds like quite a nice lifestyle otherwise."-Douglas Adams
Never bring attempt to take a knife to a fist-fight? badass.
One of the many things that Jeff Cooper got right was the observation that goblins and soft and feckless in a fight.
Knife wielding burglar, attempted murder, and he gets four and a half years in jail? UK is good to criminals.
